Backcountry Aviation Radio

Season 4 closes out with a returning guest...Brett Baker of Cleared to Adventure was one of the very first people on this show, back in episodes 4 and 5, and this time we caught up in person on a gravel bar in Alaska. We flew in on the HawkWagon, caught some glacier views along the way, and recorded with actual gunfire in the background from neighbors sighting in rifles nearby. Hard to imagine a better way to close out a season.Brett opens up about something a lot of his viewers have asked about: a DEXA scan earlier this year that came back with a biological age of 68, despite a background in competitive swimming and Ironman racing. That result changed things fast — no alcohol, no sugar, and 43 pounds down since. He puts it in pilot terms that stick with you: the cheapest way to add useful load to your airplane is to take the weight off the pilot.We also dig into the Dynon versus Garmin conversation everyone's been asking about, this time with real flight hours behind the opinion instead of a hot take, plus where Brett's headed next — a faster, IFR-capable airplane for more family travel, and a floatplane flight together that's already been teased.If you've followed this show from the beginning, this is the one that brings it full circle.Follow Brett on YouTubeMore on his webpage HERESign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Shane Madson runs Mad Custom Cubs out of Westlock, Alberta — and he builds airplanes the way he used to build Harleys, one weld and one custom touch at a time. Before he ever picked up an aircraft-grade torch, he spent years on Alberta drilling rigs and running gas plants, then became a motorcycle mechanic and competitive racer, before a chance conversation with a parts-shop regular convinced him airplanes were actually simpler than the choppers he was already building.We get into the story behind the Patina Cub...the radial-engine build that put him on the map. Shane met a fellow builder named Sam Thieme online, both of them deep into the same kind of Super Cub project, trading ideas and talking about going into business together. Then Sam passed away before they ever met in person. Later, Sam's dad reached out and asked Shane to finish his son's airplane. Shane took it on, built it his own way with the radial engine he'd always wanted, and the result became as much a tribute as a build.From there we get into what he's chasing now: a turbine-powered bush plane, built in front of thousands of people watching online, with backers getting their name on the finished airplane. And on top of all of it, Shane's mid-move from Canada to Idaho — E2 visa approved, hangar hunting already underway — chasing a bigger builder-assist market and a flying culture that doesn't exist the same way north of the border.If you've ever wondered what it takes to go from oil rigs to one of the most distinctive shops in backcountry aviation, this one's for you.Follow Shane and Mad Custom Cubs on InstagramSee the builds on YouTubeSupport the Turbine Cub and get YOUR name on the plane HERESign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Jeff Smith and Matt Axley join the show to talk about Fly Rocky Top — a brand-new backcountry airstrip network in East Tennessee, and the flagship project of the Recreational Aviation Foundation's "Expanding the Map" initiative, announced at Oshkosh this past July.The network runs on a basecamp-and-outpost model. Rockwood Municipal Airport is the basecamp: a 5,000-foot paved runway paired with a brand-new 2,400-foot turf strip called Smuggler's Landing, a name with more local history behind it than you'd guess. From there, it branches into a growing list of outposts: a wingshooting strip, a spot along the Clinch River, a stick-and-rudder strip with a 2-degree slope, and one near some of the best fly-fishing in the region.Jeff didn't start flying until he was 40, then built and flew a string of airplanes himself before helping stand up Rockwood Aviation to develop the airport. Matt is the RAF's Tennessee Ambassador and flies for a living outside his volunteer work building the network.If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to stand up a backcountry network from nothing...the land deals, the landowner relationships, the volunteer hours nobody sees, this one's for you.See the launch video HERERead more about Fly Rock Top HERESupport the RAF HERESign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Josh Richling has one of the best seats in competition STOL flying - he's the crew chief behind Steve Henry's Wild West Aircraft Highlander XL builds, the machine that's put up some of the shortest takeoff numbers in the sport. He's also the guy running Tundra Tailwheels day-to-day since Steve Henry took over the company from founder Jim Pekola in 2024, and on top of that, he freelances for FLYING Magazine covering the National STOL Series. So he builds the airplane, builds the gear, and writes the story - a rare view from all three sides of the fence.We get into what actually makes a competition STOL airplane fast (weight, prop, tires, tuning - not just headline numbers), the design philosophy behind Tundra's full-castering, brake-steered tailwheel, and how a career-ending injury from his time as a firefighter/paramedic ended up pointing him toward aviation fabrication. Oh - and he took this call from a riverbank in the Idaho backcountry, fishing rod in hand, and hijacked the format a little. You'll hear it.Tundra Tailwheels websiteSign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Ray and Melisa Fowler run Adventure Flying LLC, a CubCrafters Certified Sales Center covering the mid-Atlantic — Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Both are Delta A320 Captains, and both carry warbird résumés that go well beyond the airline job: Melisa is type-rated in the DC-3, C-47, and B-17, with stick time in the back seat of a P-51. Ray is a retired Air National Guard Lieutenant Colonel, an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, and Director of Flight Ops for the Liberty Foundation — including flying a P-40N on a live .50-cal mission documented on film this past July.We get into how Ray's start in warbirds was scrappier than his résumé suggests — as a teenager, he washed airplanes just to earn rides in the back seat of a Japanese "Kate" torpedo bomber replica, one of the airframes built for Tora! Tora! Tora!Years later, when the owner had a medical issue, Ray ended up training under a WWII-era instructor and soloing that same airplane himself.There's also a smaller-world moment neither of us expected: one of the Fowlers cut their teeth instructing local kids in a J-3 Cub through a youth aviation program Ron Alexander started at Peach State — the same program that lives on today as RAYAP, right at my own home strip.And then there's the backcountry chapter, which started almost by accident — a favor flying a Carbon Cub out to Utah that turned into an annual pilgrimage, then a CubCrafters dealership, then a full lifestyle. Their take on what backcountry flying feels like, even after a career full of warbirds and fighter jets, is one of the best lines to come out of any episode so far.If you've ever wondered what it looks like to go from fighter jets and airline flying to grass strips and gravel bars, this one's for you.Follow the Fowlers on InstagramSupport the Soaring by the Sea Foundation HERESign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

CC Pocock has spent over two decades flying in some of the most remote, unimproved terrain in the world, and now runs a one-man flight school in the Nevada desert that's trained more than 950 pilots. He's the author of Bush and Mountain Flying, now in its third edition, and just launched his own podcast and YouTube channel, Bush Air.We get into the real distinction between "bush flying" and "backcountry flying" — a line most pilots blur — and where CC thinks formal flight training falls short when it comes to building genuine off-airport skill. We also cover the accident patterns he sees repeat in the backcountry (most never get reported), the case for a heavily modified legacy airplane over a brand-new build, and what's coming next on Bush Air as he ramps up guest interviews.If you're building real off-airport skill — not just landing on grass — this one's worth the listen.Follow Bush Air on YouTubeSign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Darin Hart runs American Legend Aircraft in Sulphur Springs, Texas — the shop keeping the Piper Cub lineage alive, from a stripped-down J3 to the Rotax 916-powered Nomad. We get into how the Nomad came to be (including the Trent Palmer connection that helped put it on the map), the story behind the name, and a full breakdown of the build-assist model versus buying a kit.We also dig into MOSAIC — what the new certification standard actually means for manufacturers, the scale of investment it takes to get an aircraft through compliance, and why Darin thinks it's going to reshape the light-sport industry faster than most builders expect. Along the way: Nomad vs. MOAC performance trade-offs, why even Cub purists end up wanting a G3X and autopilot, and what it's like building airplanes from raw material up, in-house, at the factory.If you've ever wondered what goes into the modern adventure-Cub category — or what MOSAIC is actually going to change — this one's for you.Follow Legend Aero on Instagram and YouTubeBuild your own Legend HERESign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Erin and Paul flew their Bearhawk 5 named "Tina" to Peach State Aerodrome to drop in and record an episode! It was epic, and unfortunately I had to edit out the multiple fly-bys that interrupted the recording...haha.  But in this episode we talk about getting into flying, building an airplane from scratch (proudly with Bearhawk's builder assist program), and flying it to all 50 states.  This one was a lot of laughs and is a fun listen. Follow them on Instagram HEREFollow them on YouTube HERESign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Most people know Justin Meaders for the incredible story of returning to flight after the motorcycle accident that left him paraplegic. That story has been told well—including on Pilot to Pilot—so we took a different approach. In this episode, we focus on Justin the competitor: his years in Formula One air racing, his transition into the backcountry community and National STOL, the airplanes he's built and flown, and the mindset behind competing at a high level. If you've ever wondered what separates great performance pilots from the rest, this conversation is for you.Follow Justin on InstagramSign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.

Season 4 kicks off with a bit of a role reversal...in response to your comments I decided to do a "meet the host" episode" and instead of me just talking to myself, I invited Ryan Dembroski back to the podcast (only 3-time voice on the pod).  Ryan takes a turn at the mic and asks me his toughest questions and we dive into my aviation story and what is coming next for the podcast.  This was fun to record and I hope you enjoy listening to it! Welcome to season 4!JB on InstagramSign-up for our newsletter, The Scout Report: HEREWant to support Backcountry Aviation Radio? Shop HERE to get the gear.